What's next for them?

I'm frequently asked what I think of the modern republican party, and the answer is unequivocally that they are a party without a purpose. A few stories stand out to me when I make this point. The first is that the republican party and RNC chair, former PA Lt. Gov Michael Steele, announced that the RNC would be scrapping their in-house policy office. The other story that struck me was that the freshman republican congressman Rep. Cao, the first Vietnamese member of congress, was arm twisted into voting against the stimulus bill, apparently by having party elders stand by his side throughout the entire vote.

These stories disappoint me, but they do not surprise me. The GOP no longer has a policy office because the GOP no longer has a policy, except to obstruct. Moreover, they seemingly obstruct needlessly. If they were to do so on an ideological basis, that I could understand. They don't, however. They just say no for the sake of saying no.

They recently came out against the stimulus bill because they said it did not do enough to address the underlying issue of the housing crisis. However, upon the president announcing today his intention to roll out a $50b housing restructuring plan, republicans then came out and declared it a ridiculous waste of money.

Moreover, the hypocrisy is disgustingly evident. There are multiple instances of GOP members of congress attempting to take credit for the stimulus bill and the money it brings to their home district. Yes, the same stimulus bill they just tried to kill.

I can understand members of congress voting against such a large bill on an ideological basis, but none of them is willing to put their money where their mouth is and refuse the cash. Gov. Bobby Jindal of LA looks to be the only one prepared to do so, and for that, I applaud him.